UFC Fight Night 98 results: Enrique Barzola uses takedowns to cruise past Chris Avila

MEXICO CITY – Enrique Barzola reportedly spent eight weeks at altitude getting ready for Diaz protege Chris Avila, and his preparation showed.

Over three rounds, Barzola (12-3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) did most of the fighting, robbing Avila (5-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) of his mobility and landing easy takedowns for a unanimous decision.

The featherweight bout opened up the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 98 event at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.

The final scorecards were unanimously 30-26 for “The Ulitmate Fighter Latin America 2” winner Barzola, who gets back to the win column after dropping a split-call to Kyle Bochniak at UFC on FOX 21.

Avila came with the swagger of his famous coaches, Nick and Nate Diaz, but he frequently overextended on his punches, providing easy takedown opportunities for Barzola. On his back, Avila once managed to sting his opponent with an upkick. For the most part, however, he could only roll to his knees and defend against a flurry of punches.

When he wasn’t tenderizing Avila on the mat, Barzola expertly applied a calf kick that paid dividends in the final round. With his leg turning bright red, Avila briefly switched stances to avoid taking any more damage. A kick still found its way through and took him off his feet. By the end of the fight, he was almost purely defensive against the cage as Barzola used him as a punching bag.

After a loss Artem Lobov at UFC 202, Avila drops to 0-2 in the octagon.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 98 results include:

• Enrique Barzola def. Chris Avila via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 98, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Fernanda Prates contributed to this report on site in Mexico City.)